Table of Contents
CAT Score vs Percentile 2024: How to Calculate Normalised Score and Percentile
The Common Admission Test (CAT) is one of the most competitive and prestigious entrance exams in India for admission to the country’s top business schools, including the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). For candidates who appeared for CAT 2024, understanding how the CAT score and percentile are calculated is crucial for assessing their performance and determining their chances of admission into an IIM or other top B-schools.
Unlike most exams, the CAT does not release the absolute marks of candidates but instead provides percentiles. The percentile reflects the relative performance of a candidate compared to others who appeared for the exam. The entire CAT scoring and percentile system is designed to give every candidate an equal chance, taking into account various factors such as difficulty levels of different slots and variations across exam sessions.
In this article, we will explain the CAT scoring system, how the normalised score is calculated, and how to understand the relationship between your score and percentile in the context of CAT 2024.
CAT 2024 Scoring System Overview
The CAT 2024 exam is divided into three sections:
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
- Quantitative Ability (QA)
Each section consists of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and non-MCQ questions (Type-in-the-Answer or TITA questions). The scoring for the CAT exam typically works as follows:
- Each correct answer: +3 points (for MCQs and TITA questions).
- Each incorrect answer: -1 point (for MCQs only).
- No negative marking for TITA questions or unanswered questions.
The maximum number of questions in each section varies, but in total, there are 66 questions spread across the three sections, and each section is allotted 60 minutes.
What is a Percentile?
A percentile is a relative measure that indicates the position of a candidate in comparison to others who appeared for the same exam. For example, if a candidate is given a percentile of 90, this means that the candidate has performed better than 90% of the candidates, and only 10% of candidates scored better than them.
The CAT percentile calculation takes into account several factors:
- Total Number of Candidates: The overall pool of students who appeared for the exam.
- Raw Score: The total score a candidate achieves based on correct and incorrect answers.
- Difficulty Level: As the exam is held in multiple slots, the difficulty level can vary across slots. The percentile calculation compensates for this variation by using a normalisation process.
How is the CAT Percentile Calculated?
The percentile is calculated using the formula: Percentile=(Number of candidates with a score less than yoursTotal number of candidates who appeared for the exam)×100\text{Percentile} = \left( \frac{\text{Number of candidates with a score less than yours}}{\text{Total number of candidates who appeared for the exam}} \right) \times 100
For example, if 10,000 candidates appeared for the exam, and your score was better than 9,000 of them, your percentile will be calculated as: Percentile=(9,00010,000)×100=90\text{Percentile} = \left( \frac{9,000}{10,000} \right) \times 100 = 90
However, this method is only applicable to raw percentiles before normalisation.
Normalisation of CAT Scores
Since the CAT exam is conducted in multiple slots and the difficulty level can vary from one slot to another, a normalisation process is applied to ensure fairness across all candidates. Normalisation is the process by which the raw scores are adjusted to account for the differences in difficulty levels.
The normalized score adjusts for factors such as:
- The difficulty level of each slot: If a particular slot is deemed to be tougher than others, the candidates who appeared in that slot will be given scores that are adjusted upward, ensuring that their performance is on par with candidates who appeared in easier slots.
- Variation in number of candidates: The normalisation process also accounts for the total number of candidates appearing in each slot and their relative performance.
The final percentile calculation uses these normalised scores, so candidates appearing in different slots are evaluated on a level playing field.
How are CAT Normalised Scores Calculated?
The normalisation of CAT scores follows a specific method known as the equipercentile method. Here’s a simplified explanation of how normalisation works:
- Equipercentile Method:
- Scores are first ranked in terms of percentiles.
- The raw scores are adjusted using a statistical method that considers the distribution of raw scores across all slots. The aim is to place all candidates on an equal footing, even if the difficulty level differs across slots.
- This method ensures that a candidate’s percentile reflects their relative position among all the candidates who appeared for the exam, regardless of which slot they appeared in.
- Step-by-Step Process:
- First, candidates’ raw scores are calculated based on correct and incorrect answers.
- Then, the raw scores are mapped to percentiles within each section (VARC, DILR, and QA).
- Finally, the aggregate percentile for each candidate is calculated by considering their individual percentiles in each section and applying the overall normalisation process.
How to Estimate Your CAT Percentile Based on Scores?
Although percentiles are calculated based on the normalised scores, it’s important to understand the broad range of scores and their corresponding percentiles. Here’s a general guideline based on previous years’ trends (note that this can vary):
| Raw Score Range (Total) | Approximate Percentile |
|---|---|
| 200-225 | 99+ |
| 180-200 | 98-99 |
| 150-180 | 90-95 |
| 125-150 | 85-90 |
| 100-125 | 75-85 |
| Below 100 | Below 75 |
- A score above 200 is typically considered an excellent score and would place a candidate in the 99 percentile or above.
- A score between 180-200 would likely place a candidate in the 98-99 percentile range.
- Scores in the 150-180 range generally place candidates in the 90-95 percentile.
What is the Role of Percentile in CAT Admission?
The percentile plays a pivotal role in shortlisting candidates for the Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds conducted by the IIMs and other participating institutes. Based on your percentile, IIMs create a shortlist of candidates who will be invited for further rounds.
Here’s how percentile helps:
- Shortlisting for Interviews: Based on the overall CAT percentile, top candidates are selected for the GD-PI rounds.
- Call for WAT-PI: The Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI) are key components in the final selection process for IIMs and other B-schools. Higher percentiles increase the chances of getting calls for these rounds.
Conclusion: CAT Score vs Percentile
Understanding the CAT 2024 scoring system and how percentiles are calculated is vital for all aspirants who are aiming for a spot in the top B-schools in India. While the raw CAT score gives an idea of how many questions you answered correctly, the percentile is the true indicator of your relative performance. The normalisation process ensures fairness across all candidates, compensating for slot variations and making sure that every candidate’s score is evaluated equitably.
If you want to estimate your percentile, comparing your score with historical data (like the one shown above) and calculating your expected percentile based on the normalisation method is a good start. Ultimately, your percentile will play a crucial role in determining the next steps in the MBA admission process.
